First National Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest Launches, Sponsored by Taste of Home!

Today
Girl Scouts of the USA announced the first National Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest, Sponsored by Taste of Home, the
world's leading food magazine. Through March 2, Girl Scout Cookie
enthusiasts can create and submit their favorite dessert recipes using the
iconic cookies as ingredients, for the chance to win prizes ranging from$250 to
$500, plus a spotlight feature in Taste
of Home.

Chefs
of all levels, from home cooks to established professionals, are encouraged to submit
Girl Scout Cookie-inspired entries in one of four categories: (1) cakes,
pies, cupcakes, (2) cookies, brownies, bars, (3) pudding, ice-cream, gelatin
desserts, and (4) candies. The experts in the Taste of Home Test
Kitchen will review and test the recipes, selecting the top 16—four from each
category—based on taste, visual appeal, creativity, and crowd appeal.

From March
30 to April 14, the public will have a chance to vote for their favorite
finalist recipes here.
The recipes with the most votes in each category win and winners will be
announced in mid-April.

"Each
year, we see so many excited cookie fans share their own recipes using Girl
Scout Cookies via social media and more, so we figured it was high time to do
something with all this positive energy," said Anna Maria Chavez, CEO
of Girl Scouts of the USA. "The creative possibilities are endless,
just like the number of ways girls use their cookie money to give back to their
local communities."

Taste
of Home Editor-in-Chief Catherine
Cassidy is equally enthusiastic about the contest and the opportunity to
collaborate with Girl Scouts. "Fostering a sense of care and community in
homes across America has always been part of the fabric of Taste
of Home," she said. "As a Girl Scout alumna, I'm thrilled to lend
a helping hand in and outside of the kitchen. We are pleased to work with an
organization that encourages young women to put their skills and creativity to
positive use."

Participating
in the National Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest, Sponsored by Taste of
Home, could be a fun activity to do during this year's National Girl Scout
Cookie Weekend (February 27 -- March 1, 2015). The weekend will celebrate the positive impact girls make
on their communities through the Girl Scout Cookie Program. The Girl Scout Cookie
Program aims to teach girls five essential life skills: goal setting, decision
making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.

We're Girl Scouts of the USA
We're 2.6 million strong—1.8 million girls and 800,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™. Since 1912, we’ve built girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.